The present apparatus generally relates to computer apparatus, and more particularly relates to apparatus and methods for removably securing a system planar board to a computer chassis and operatively connecting the planar board to other operating components of the computer.
The system planar board or backplane of a personal computer is generally recognized as the assembly which requires the most service, or system intervention, since it typically carries the least reliable components of the overall computer system such as the processor, memory and main bus. As conventionally incorporated in personal computers, system planers function as the base into which all other card assemblies are plugged. I/O and peripheral cabling may either be plugged directly into the planar or into the rear edge of a card assembly which plugs into the planar.
Since all of these cards require force to plug them into the planar, the planar must be firmly secured to the metal chassis portion of the computer and, together with its associated mounting structure, must be of a rather rugged construction. This typically requires that the planar be secured at multiple locations thereon to the computer chassis by screws before the other cards and cabling are plugged into the planar in a "layered" sequence and arrangement.
The reverse sequence is required when it subsequently becomes necessary to remove the planar for inspection, repair or replacement. Specifically, the I/O card cabling is removed from the I/O card rear edges, the I/O cards are removed, the planar I/O cabling is removed, and finally the hardware which secures the planar to the chassis is removed and the planar is withdrawn. Installation of a new planar on the computer chassis requires that these several steps be carried out in a reverse order.
Simply stated, this method of securing a system planar to a computer chassis, and electrically coupling the planar to other components of the computer, in effect "buries" the least reliable portion of the overall computer system beneath more reliable components which, despite the fact that they might not need any service whatsoever, must be laboriously removed (and tediously replaced) simply to gain access to the planar. Because of this attachment complexity, it is not unusual for the total time to effect planar changeout to be from ten to thirty minutes or more. Since the computer is down during planar changeout, such changeout is often costly and highly inconvenient.
One proposed approach to improving the accessibility of a system planar board is illustrated and described in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/967,903 filed on Oct. 27, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,214 entitled "Expansion Card/Riser Card Module for Desktop Computers", assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Disclosed in such pending application is an expansion card/riser card module in which a riser card is used as the coupling means for operatively connecting and disconnecting the supported expansion cards to and from the motherboard. The module includes a movable support structure that removably carries the riser card and the plurality of expansion cards for conjoing movement therewith. The riser card is operatively and removably coupled to the expansion cards and has a connection edge portion adapted to be removably received within a motherboard socket when the support structure is appropriately aligned over the socket and pushed against the motherboard.
While this approach to providing enhanced accessibility to a motherboard is seen to provide a substantial improvement over prior art computer system constructions, it still requires that the I/O cards, and their associated I/O cables, be moved before the system planar board can be disconnected and removed from the chassis.
It can readily be seen from the foregoing that it would be highly desirable to provide improved apparatus and methods for securing a system planar to a computer chassis, and electrically coupling the planar to the other computer system components usually associated therewith, to improve the serviceability, uptime and manufacturability of the computer with which the planar is associated. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide such improved apparatus and methods.